Photos

People who liked this also liked...

Kay Stanton, her husband Neil and son Tommy live on the French Riviera. While at the port, when her husband was on a trip she meets an American naval officer, and they begin an affair. Kay ... See full summary »

On a beach, a group of sailors have sex with a depressed young woman. Madam of a nearby brothel takes her in but she leaves with an artist who lives close by. Meanwhile, her old rich husband and his sinister chauffeur are looking for her.

When US radar installations in Greece are jammed and an undercover NATO security man is killed, suspicion falls on his widow, who sets out to find the real culprits and prove herself ... See full summary »

Helene Regnier's husband Charles, who is mentally ill, injures their son Michel in a rage. Charles moves back in with his wealthy and manipulative parents, who blame Helene for their son's ... See full summary »

Charles Desvallées has good reasons to believe that his wife is cheating on him and hires a P.D. in order to prove himself right. Once he knows the lover is writer Victor Pégala, he drives ... See full summary »

Charles Masson, an advertising executive, is having an affair with Laura, the wife of his best friend, the architect François Tellier. Charles strangles Laura when one of their S&M games ... See full summary »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

Did You Know?

Trivia

The project was originally intended for Anthony Mann, who declined the offer and recommended Claude Chabrol instead. Chabrol took the job against the grain and once claimed that he had been drunk during most of the shooting. See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

User Reviews

In May 1940, the French army had suffered an astonishingly quick defeat against the Germans. As a consequence of the armistice signed in June 1940, France was divided into two parts bordered by the so-called line of demarcation. The northern part, including the entire Atlantic coast, was occupied by the Germans. The south, called "Zone libre", remained under French government. It was located at Vichy and headed by Word War I hero maréchal Pétain.

The film is set in Winter 1941 in a village divided by the demarcation line, which coincides with a river at this section. A bridge crosses the river. Everyone who wants two pass over has to plead his legitimation to the Germans, who have set up a military command on the northern side in the castle of count Damville (played by Maurice Ronet). The count, a captain of the defeated French army, returns home from war, multiply wounded. He can walk with the help of a cane only. But he is also morally damaged. He doesn't believe in the sense of resistance against the Germans any more, quite in contrast to his wife, the countess (Jean Seberg). She is British-born, listens every evening to the BBC broadcast to France and helps a British crew, whose plane has been shot down, to escape to Gibraltar.

The film offers a wide cross-section of possible behavior in times of occupation. There are collaborators, informers, résistance fighters, patriotic veterans from World War I, an upright doctor (Daniel Gélin) and a courageous teacher (Jean Yanne). The Germans are represented by an army major (Reinhard Koldehoff), who tries to keep his minimum standard of military decency, while two Gestapo agents act without any legal or moral inhibitions. The conflict rises to a climax when a British radio operator, working for the résistance, is found out and injured by the Germans. His comrades kidnap him from the hospital, and he hides at the teacher's house, where the countess nurses him. It turns out that the demarcation line not only cuts the French territory in two, but also segregates the French population into true patriots and vile cowards. The crossing of the bridge can also symbolize the change of moral sides.

This may seem a bit too clear-cut. Indeed, with the exception of the major, the Germans are represented in the usual stereotypes. But the the French, especially the count, are shown with their doubts and weaknesses. And there are situations where you have to chose between one of two possibilities. A good deal of suspense is generated by the permanent danger of being found out by the Germans. So this film offers not only moral instruction, but also exciting pleasure, conveyed by good performances of Ronet and Seberg.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?